MP govt proposes no new taxes in budget

Bhopal, July 1: The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday proposed no new taxes in the budget for 2014-15, that projects a fiscal deficit of Rs 13,425 crore.

Presenting the budget in the state Assembly here, Finance Minister Jayant Malaiyya said that 34 implements used in agriculture have been exempted from tax. Besides, butter, flush doors, ceramic and vitrified tiles have been made cheaper, he said.

The fiscal deficit was at 2.98 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it was well within the prescribed limits, he said.

The Minister also proposed to end taxes imposed on transportation of tendu leaves and pointed out that this would cause a revenue loss of Rs 3 crore. He said that for rationalisation of VAT, its rate has been reduced from 13 per cent to 5 per cent.

This would apply to many things, including thermal insulators used for industrial input, computer scanners and X-ray films, he said.